There was an overwhelming sense of relief and delight around Sixfields following Kelvin Thomas’ takeover this week, but while Wilder was delighted by the news, he confessed it was tough to get people’s minds focussed on the game itself.

He said: “We were walking into the ground and everyone’s patting each other onto the back and saying ‘well done’ but we had a game of football to focus on.

“It’s been a difficult day for us as coaching staff and players because we’ve had to get the players’ mind on it.

“But if someone is more delighted with the news than me then that takes some going.

“It’s outstanding news and it takes this club into a new direction. I’ve enjoyed the week and enjoyed watching my team play and the spirit they’ve shown at Notts County and on Tuesday.”

Prior to D’Ath’s well-taken goal, Northampton had struggled to get going in a laboured opening 35 minutes with the swirling wind and driving rain causing problems for both sides.

But when Richards added a second shortly after half-time, Northampton eased to a seventh victory in eight games.

Wilder added: “This was a horrible banana skin for us so for us to get that big result is massive for the football club.

“Yeovil had nothing to lose and I said to the players that if I’m sat in the opposition changing room I want to come here, play well and upset everybody.

“The conditions weren’t great and I thought they played the conditions better than we did but thankfully we got a great result.

“We just looked a little bit flat. As good as the front three or four were on Tuesday, they seemed just off the pace a little bit today.

“We didn’t press together and we didn’t show that energy and maybe in hindsight I should have made a couple of changes to the side but when you’ve won three games on the spin in the league, it would have been very difficult to leave anybody out.

“We lacked some punch and a spark and Yeovil had nothing to lose. They made it difficult for us and played some decent football but I was frustrated.

“We got one up and the second goal was a real big moment for us.”

Cobblers fans inside Sixfields were keen for Ricky Holmes to come off the bench and return to action for the first time since August but Wilder’s main priority was to see the game out.

“I think everyone wanted to see Ricky come on but we needed to see the game out,” added the Cobblers boss.

“The ball was kept in the corner on 93 minutes for two minutes. I don’t give a monkey’s what people think because we to be professional and get a result.

“To win a game at this level is tough and we have to be professional and disciplined.”